Hootie, was it pay and QOL problems or they just couldn't cut it?

wow.l Now that is interesting.

Yesteryear
 

N6724G,

You mentioned that you have some retired airline friends. Don't use information from retired pilots as a guide to future satisfaction. You should not set your expectations on what the pilots of yesteryear or even of today have enjoyed. The future is going to be vastly different.

Instead you should project your expectations into the future following the current trends. Not a good picture. People who start on the path today will have a vastly different outcome than pilots who flew in the past.

Skyhigh

I seriously doubt there are too many cops (or military) turned pilot who "just couldn't cut it" at a regional airline. There is a big difference between not cutting it and having too much self respect to put up with it.

I have retired as well as current airline pilot friends. I agree with you that it is changing and the airline world will look completely different in a few years

expect to receive 10% of what you hope for and 10 times more effort to get it and you have a pretty good description of the business.

The longer I am on the "outside" (going on 10 months now), the happier I am getting. I NEED to fly. But I've got 3 students I am working with on the weekends, the keys to a friend's C-150 I can go fly whenever I want (grab the wife and head up for a sunset flight, fly to get lunch, etc) and a solid career prospect lining up outside that will allow me to purchase my own airplane in a couple years and continue to freelance my flying services.

I honestly believe that the 2 years I spent as a regional pilot was worth every second to me - in many ways. I'd recommend anyone who wants to do it, to do it, especially if young, just to check that box off your "life list" if nothing else.

But, after experiencing it, I'm thinking more and more how nice the water is on this side.

Please don't do this intentionally. It will cost you a lot of money, and dilute the profession for those who hope to stay for the long term.

I have a young relative who was interested in airline flying, and I was going to do his training (after or during college). But he eventually decided that he only wanted to do it for a few years, and then quite when he got married and had a family. I withdrew my offer to train him based on that (I'll still do his PPL).

I knew that this would be a response taken by some and was even going to include a disclaimer in my post to this effect. My intention was not to do it temporarily. But after what has gone down in recent times, it is more a matter of making lemonade.

However, why we do what we do is a personal thing. If someone wants to be a pilot (professionally or otherwise) and is young with little overhead and has the dream to be an airline pilot, but yet reads all there is to read about the negatives on this board, I believe it is in his/her best interest to "try" out the job for a while to really SEE what it is like.

My point is that after seeing it for myself, my appreciation for it (both positives and negatives) is MUCH more complete than it would have been had I merely listened to others' takes on it.

For some, the "dream" which may or may not exist (that is up to the individual to decide) is a tough thing to just shelve. If one tries out the career, then shelves it, I believe that a greater level of happiness can be achieved than one who always dreams about what it would have been like.

There are a multitude of more serious things that have/are diluting this career.

A handful of folks who are going in eyes wide open with the ability to bale out if things prove crappy might actually be better for the profession than a bunch of guys who are stuck with no options except to deal with it or join the unemployment line.

Your point is well received, however.

I think there is a lot of truth to that. A lot of people have tried to steer me away from aviation, but so far with no luck. I definitely intend to do it long-term, but who knows what will happen? I just know I would look back with a lot of regret if I did not give it a shot. I'd rather have tried it and decided that it wasn't for me than to always wonder about it.